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Barrister, Lawyer

Category: Real Estate Law

Satisfied Customers: 27669

Experience: 15 years real estate, Realtor. Landlord 26 years

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My father had a judgment entered against him. The judgment

Resolved Question:

My father had a judgment entered against him. The judgment was recorded and attached to the house that my father and mother own as joint tenants. My father is about to pass away, and my mother will then own the house (right of survivorship). How would she get a the recorded judgment released since she is not the judgment debtor?

Hello and thank you for using JA! My goal is to provide you with excellent service and help with your legal problem..You have hit the nail on the head with the quiet title action. When father passes, mother will instantly become the sole owner of the property as father's interest will extinguish at the moment of his death and the house would not be included in his estate or subject to his creditor's claims. She would have to file the quiet title suit against the creditor and show that since she is sole owner of the house due to father's passing, the lien is no longer effective to encumber the house..Unfortunately, there is no easier way to get the judgment lien released if mother notifies the creditor that father's interest has extinguished and they refuse to voluntarily file a lien release...

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Thanks.

Barrister

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If you need further help, just reply to me via the “REPLY” button and I will be happy to continue.

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I cannot enter into an attorney client relationship, this is a public forum, and all posts are available for public viewing.There is no duty of confidentiality that attaches to any posts. The information provided is not a substitute for a local attorney’s legal advice.

Thank you for your quick response. Are creditors often willing to voluntarily release given these fairly clear circumstances? The judgment amount is only for a little over $4k, so I would think receipt of a voluntary release would not necessarily be out of the question (versus being hailed into court for a quiet title action). I would have my mom send proof of title (deed showing joint tenancy) and a death certificate to the creditor's attorneys of record and request that the judgment be voluntarily released. Is there an official release document required or can we craft one to send with a letter requesting voluntary release of judgment?

Are creditors often willing to voluntarily release given these fairly clear circumstances?.Well, creditors are never "easy" to deal with, but if mother got an attorney to call the creditor's attorney prior to filing the quiet title action, they might be able to agree to voluntarily release it rather than go through the trouble of suing and having the creditor pay their attorney to defend and lose...The document is just a release of judgment lien and is a standard form. This is a link to a standard one you could just replace the North Carolina with Colorado and it would work fine..http://nc.invtitle.com/resource/forms/upload/practice/release-judgment-lien-nonedit.pdf..ThanksBarrister

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